This three-year award supports US-France cooperative research on the phylogenetic relationships of ichnoviruses and a new family of insect pathogenic viruses known as ascoviruses. The similarities between these two viruses suggest these groups may share a common ancestor. The studies involve the research groups of Brian Federici of the University of California, Riverside, and the group of G. Periquet and Y. Bigot at the University of Tours, France. Both research groups are the discoverers of two subfamilies of ascoviruses. They propose to determine (1) the genomic organization and structure of genomes through genomic sequencing; (2) the gene sequences of key viral proteins; and (3) the relationship of ascoviruses with other large double-stranded DNA viruses such as entompoxviruses and baculoviruses. The US investigator brings to this collaboration expertise in the fields of insect pathology and molecular virology. This is complemented by French expertise in insect genetics and molecular biology. This joint project will advance understanding of these two groups of insect viruses and their origins.
